Ball valve cage with resilient ball guide



June 29, 1954 M. F. ECKER Y2,682,281

BALL VALVE CAGE WITH RESILIENT BALL GUIDE Filed Feb. v$27, 1950 i291 1 3 ugs. Y i 5f /O W ,/S'IW'" "5`g/ l/ll/ BY H/S HTTORNY. Hake/s, /f/acH, FOSTER Hake/5 Patented June 29, 1954 `UNITED STATES PATENT 4OFFICE Murry F. Ecker, Huntington Park, Calif., assignor to Pacific Pumps, Inc., Huntington Park, Calif., a corporation of California Application February 27, 1950, Serial No. 146,529

. 1 Claim.

My invention relates in general to ball check valves and, more particularly, to a cage for a ball valve, a primary object of the invention being to provide a cage having a flexible and resilient ball guide. v

Ball valve cages having metallic ball guides are subject to considerable wear, particularly where a ball check valve incorporating a metallic ball guide opens and closes frequently, an example being the working valves incorporated in oil well pumps. As is well known in the art, a ball check valve employed as the working valve of an oil Well pump opens and closes each time the pump piston goes through its pumping and return strokes. In addition to wear, the cage of such a conventional ball check valve is subject to a peening action each time the ball valve moves from its closed position to its open position. The ball valve itself is ordinarily not subject to any appreciable peerilng action, or to appreciable Wear, since it is customarily made of a relatively hard metal to insure retention of its spherical configuration. Peening and wear of the cage in such a conventional ball check valve can be minimized by making the cage of a relatively hard metal also, but this is not a particularly desirable solution since it materially increases peening and wear of the ball valve and thus tends to destroy the desired spherical configuration of the ball valve. This, of course, may result in leakage past the ball valve when it is in its closed position since it does not engage its seat properly when no longer spherical.

The present invention, by providing a ball check valve having a cage with a ball guide of a flexible and resilient material, overcomes the foregoing disadvantages of metallic ball guides since the material of the ball guide, being flexible,

yields when the ball valve comes in contact therewith, and, being resilient, subsequently resumes its original conguration. Thus, wear of the ball guide is minimized and peening thereof is substantially eliminated, all of which is an im'- portant feature of the invention.

In general, the invention provides a flexible and resilient ball guide which includes circumferentially spaced guide elements adapted to receive the ball valve therebetween,'the circumferential spaces between the guide elements providing passages past the ball `valve through which uid may now when the ball valve is in its open position. Two or more guide elements may be employed for the ball guide, the guide elements being diametrically opposed When two are employed.

connected by arcuate connecting elements which co-operate with the guide elements at one end of the ball guide to form an annulus at said one end of the ball guide, Which is another object of the invention.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a ball guide wherein at least the arcu- :ate connecting elements defining said annulus are formed of a material which is considerably moreA flexible and softer than the guide elements to permit the ball guide to be distorted readily so as to facilitate assembly thereof with the body of the ball valve cage.

Preferably, the ball guide is formed of a flexible and resilient material of a rubber-like nature with at least the arcuate connecting elements forming the annulus of the ball guide being more flexible and softer than the guide elements themselves. The guide elements are preferably formed of a relatively hard, abrasion resistant material of the nature mentioned in order to minimize wear thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for securing the ball guide in the cage therein an annular groove which is adapted to receive the annulus at one end of the ball guide, such annular groove communicating with the annular recess mentioned, but being formed in a side wall of such recess so that it does not communicate with the bore, but is spaced outwardly therefrom and is separated therefrom by an annular portion of the cage body. With this construction, the ball guide is secured in the annular recess and groove in a positive manner, which is a feature of the invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ball check valve wherein the flexible and resilient ball guide may be inserted into its annular recess and groove through the bore, or its equivalent, in the cagebody by virtue of the Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a ball? check valve which embodiestheinvention;

Fig. 2 is another longitudinal.` sectional Iview thereof taken along the brokenline 2-2' of Fig. l; Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sectional views thereof taken along the brokenflinesv3-3wand 4-4 respectively, of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an isometric view of a flexible and resilient ball guide of the 'inventiom Fig. 6 is a fragmentary, longitudinal sectional view which is similar to Figy Jl; butfwhicli illustrates another embodiment lof fthe invention; and

Fig. 7 is a transversel sectional view taken lalongthe broken line v'l---l of Fig: y6.-

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 andjZ, the numeral I0 designates a ball 1check valve which embodies vthe invention and which may b'e employed in connection with any desiredapparatus, such as the pumppiston ofa singleacting oil well pump,for'example. The valve- I0 'includes a valve cage II comprising a cagebody I2 and a flexible and 'resilient ball guide -I'3"-for aball valveI 4; vThe cage body I2 is providedwith abore I5 therethrough which serves as aiiiuid'fpassage, the ball valve I4 being adapted rto seat on an'annularseat element I6 to prevent downward -flowthrougli the bore I5, as 4viewedlin thefdrawing. The annular seat element ISiis disposedinacounterbore I'I` in the cage body and is seated agalnstja shoulder I 8 at the junction of the counterbore Ilwith-the boreIE, the annular seat-elementbeing retained in the counterbore I T-by altubular'nut`I9-thread ed into l the counterbore;

The cage body I 2- is'` provided with aan annular recess 22 and `Y an-annularlgroove'l2f3 therein in which the flexible `and resilie'nt'ball"guide I3" is disposed, the annular recess-22 communicating with the bore I5 and being defined by ja '-b'ase wall substantially .concentric with the bore and side walls 25 substantially normalto the bore.

The annular groove-231is directedlaxially of the cage body I2- and is formed in'oneoffthe side walls 2510i the annular recfessff-2'27, the-annular groove 23 being denedby a basewall 26substanuauy normal tothervborefl 5 'aridffbyside wens 2T substantially' concentric with' the bore I5.

Thus, the annular grooveRil-communicates with the annular recess22 but Anot withltheb'ore I5, the annular groove 23'? being ,spacedi outwardly from the bore I5 and being separatedltherefrom byan annular portion 2ls=ofthecagefbodyI2.

As best shown in'Fig:5, the=exibleandfresil ientball guide I3isfprovidedlat'1one-end' with an annulus 3|k which isuinsertable intothe annular fr groove 23, the remainder ofthevball guide being disposed in the annularfrecess`-22i ball guide is secured-'relative'to'.the.cagebody fI2` ina lpositive and reliable manner.

In the particular construction illustrated,l the ballguide I3 includesitwodiametrically opposed,

arcuate guide elementsf32twhichare 'adapted-to receive the'ball yvalve=I4the-rebetween, the guide elements32 beingy spaced: apart,` circumferentially ofthe iball guide 43 to -provideuisi passaggsfpast Thus, the

the ball valve when it is in its open position, indicated in phantom in Figs. 1 and 2. The exterior surfaces 33 of the guide elements 32 conform in curvature to that of the base wall 24 of the annular recess 22, while the interior surfaces 34 thereof conform in curvature to that of the ball valve AI4. .The interior'vsurfa'ices 3,4501 the guide elements 32 curve inwardly toward eachother at ,their upper ends in converging relationship to limit upward movement of the ball valve I4 away from the; annulargseat'element I6, thereby defin- ,ing the open position of the ball valve.

The guide'elementsn32 are formed of a flexible andresilientmaterial of a rubber-like nature, the

,guidegelementsjbeing adapted to yield, by virtue The annulus 3| at one end of the ball'guidei-l3' interconnects-'the guide .elements 32 to Vform a structure 1 whichv may be f assembled L with /or disfassernbled 'from thev cage body I 2 yasa unit, which is animportant featurek of the invention. The` ".annulus-V 3 I includes )arcuate connecting elements 3 'I -1 which extend between. and :connect the guide elements 32;-and:includesarcuate end portions 381`of 'the guide elements 32: Atleastfthe arcuate connecting elem-ents 31 .of ilthetannulusy 3Il are .-formed'of a material whichais `materially more flexible and somewhat softer thanA thatofvthe' guide. elementss32 soth'at thelball guide :IST-may be. deformed temporarilyeto permity its insertion as a unitithrough the, bore r. l 5i in .ft/he, cage-body |21.

andfinto Athenrecessn22 and'igroove' 23 therein, whichxisan `important'.feature ofx the inventions Thenarcuate connecting.; elementsf'l alone I may be formed :of-such relatively more Zflexible* material land mayvbe bonded to 'the,fguide:elernents':32,'

.orthe entire annulusl may be formed of rsuch relatively more uflexible material Yand bonded tO the guidevv elements. Witheither.:constructiom theuarcuatef connecting'elements 3:1 I mayv b'e de-'v formed temporarily topermit insertion4 of fthe ball .,.gulde I3 through the bore I 5:: into A-the vannular recessI 22 andi groove-2 3 t as 4indicated.

A wide variety, of rubber-likematerialsfsuitable for the arcuate connecting elementsflfand guide elements 32-isavailable.V Examples are: com- ".pounds of? butadiene acrylonitrile copolymers using .plasticizers, fillers and vuleanizing agentscommon fto the rubber industry; compoundsv o1-v polyvinyl chloride0 vinyl chloride -vinylidene chloride copolymers, vinyl chloride-,vinyl acetate 0f.;\v copolymers, and these. polymers themselves;

combinations of ,vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride 'I .vinyl chloride' copolymers, vinylidene` chloride vinyl acetate :copolymers and butadiene acrylonitrile copolymersl blended'V `together byA -,mechanical means; and thelike'.

understood that suitable materials forthe arcuate r It" will be connecting elements3z1` and guide'elements 32 mayv also :be selected from' other. groups; Preferably; Ithe-materials for the arcuate connecting` elements -31 and the guide elements: '32- areA so' selected vthat fthe. connecting elementsr are `setterl ,As an example,` the connecting elements S'Igand,

guide elements 32 may have Shore hardnesses of 90 and 75, respectively, although other values may also be used.

Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, in instances where rotation of the ball guide I3 relative to the cage body l2 would be detrimental, such rotation may be prevented by means of radially projecting lugs 39 formed integrally with the guide eiements such lugs being insertable into complementary openings 49 in the cage body I2. As will be apparent, the lugs 39 in eiect key the ball guide it to the cage body l2 to prevent relative rotation.

As will be apparent, the greater flexibility and softness of the arcuate connecting elements 3'?, or the entire annulus 3|, permits the ball guide to be deformed tempora-rily to an extent sufcient to permit insertion of the lugs 39 into the openings 40 during insertion of the ball guide into the annular recess 22 and groove 23 by way of the bore l5.

Although I have disclosed exemplary embodiments of my invention herein for purposes of illustration, it Will be understood that various changes, modications and substitutions may be incorporated in the embodiments disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

In a ball valve, the combination of: a tubular cage body having an axial bore therethrough and provided intermediate its ends with a cylindrical recess of greater diameter than said bore so as to form upper and lower annular shoulders at the respective ends of said recess, said upper shoulder being provided with an annular `groove in the lower face thereof and communicating with said recess; a ball guide of resilient material including a plurality of vertical guide elements disposed in said recess and said groove, said guide elements being circumferentially spaced apart in said recess so as to provide vertical fiuid passages therebetween, said guide elements having adjacent their upper ends surfaces engaging said upper shoulder and at their lower ends surfaces engaging said lower shoulder, said guide elements having adjacent their vupper. ends extending radially into said bore, the uno. r of said abutments having arcuate surfaces curving downwardly and outwardly, said guide elen ments including at 'their upper ends spaced arcuate end portions in said groove, said ball guide including arcuate connecting elements in .said groove and extending between and interconnecting said arcuate end portions of said guide elements so that said arcuate end portions of said guide elements and arcuate connecting elements form an unbroken annulus in said groove, said arcuate connecting elements being of a material which is materially more iiexible than that of said guide elements so that said ball guide may be deformed temporarily for insertion as a unit into said recess and said groove; a valve seat in said cage body below said lower shoulder; and a ball valve within said ball guide between said abutments and said seat adapted to be guided in its vertical movement between said seat and said abutments by said guide elements, said ball valve having a radius substantially the same as the radii of said arcuate surfaces and being engageable therewith.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 669,328` Stadeli Mar. 5, 1901 1,725,235 Wellensiek Aug. 20, 1929 1,861,674 Winterhoff June 7, 1932 1,901,217 Yerkes Mar. 14, 1933 1,989,199 Hummert Jan. 29, 1935 2,144,427 Longstreet Jan. 17, 1939 2,309,839 Gardner Feb. 2, 1943 2,591,174 Martin Apr. 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 496,675 Germany 1930 

